A number of African leaders are expected to address the general debate of the UN General Assembly's 78th session on Tuesday, according to a schedule posted on the organization's website.
The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, will be the only African leader to speak at the morning session. According to the presidency, Pretoria's participation in the event is motivated by the country's goals of mobilizing support for South Africa's domestic objectives, supporting the African Agenda, and advancing the Southern Agenda on the platform of the North-South Dialogue.
During the afternoon session, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune will deliver a speech after the leaders of Bolivia, Kazakhstan and Iran. The president met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the margins of the event to discuss issues on the United Nations agenda as well as regional and global developments.
The 10th speaker to address the General Assembly is Mozambican leader Filipe Nyusi, who will speak after Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.
The next African leader to address the gathering will be Nigerian President Bola Tinubu. His speech will cover sustainable development, climate change, global cooperation, and the need to address inequalities and global humanitarian crises, according to his office.
Senegalese President Macky Sall will be the fifth and last African head of state to address the 78th session. He spoke at last year's Assembly on behalf of the African Union, which he chaired until this February.
A total of 16 global heads of state will address the session which will be opened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and General Assembly President Dennis Francis.
Africa's Concerns
In their speeches, African leaders are reportedly keen to raise climate change-related issues in view of the fact that the continent is still bearing the brunt of global warming despite having lower greenhouse gas emissions than developed countries.
Another issue that speakers from the continent can bring up is the need to create a more equitable representation of Africa on the global stage, especially in multilateral institutions, including the UN.
Another pressing issue the speakers may touch on is the military coups that have recently taken place in the region.
Nigeria's Tinubu reportedly particularly eager to discuss this topic in his speech. Earlier, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which is led by the Nigerian president, condemned the military coup in Niger in July and imposed sanctions on the country.
This year's assembly is being convened under the title 'Rebuilding Trust and Reigniting Global Solidarity: Accelerating Action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals Towards Peace, Prosperity, Progress, and Sustainability for All'.